Variety (December 1950)

30 TELEVISION • 9 With television producers hay- ing already scraped bottom in their search for pew guest stars, CBS is attempting to sdlva the problem through inauguration of a “block-booking” system on top guest talent. Guest is pacted for a month’s round of the web’s va- rious shows, which can include ra- dio as well as TV. While the pacts are non-exclusive, CBS hopes to be able to use each star often enough during the month so that he won’t have time to appear on programs for conipeting Webs. Film actress Janis Carter, for example, makes her video debut Dec. 14 on CBS’ “Starlight The- atre.’V She’s slated to guest the following night bn Morton Dow- ney’s ■‘‘Star of the Family’’ and will iSter do guest stints on both the Ken Murray and Frank Sinatra video programs. Douglas Fair- banks has been set to guest on the Jack Benny radio show from the Coast some tirne next month and then will head east for appear- ances vyith Murray and on Ed Sul- livan’s “Toast of the Town.”- CBS execs believe the block- booking method will lure a num- ber of new guest stars into TV. Many film players who are now freelancing and so are in a posi- tion to do video shows, often will not come east with only a single program in prospect^ according to CBS. But, if the web can offer them four or five shows during a month, the money involved will be sufficient to spur their trip east. In addition, the web believes the system will be advantageous to its. producers in providing a central source from which they can draw their guest talent. New method, too, is expected to give CBS first crack at building a package show around the stars whom it uses. While they won’t be working exclusively for CBS during their month’s booking, the fact that they’ll be so closely asso- ciated with that web indicates that if any of them show sufficient vi- deo capabilities to warrant their having their own show, then they’ll probably do business with CBS. East, Coast AFRA ABCs 2-Hour 'Eve’ Show ABC-TV is peddling a two-hour New Year’s Eve show, to be beamed Sunday, Dec. 31, frbm 11:30 p. m. to 1:30 a. hi. Web, several weeks back, started lining up stations, and has cleared. time for a large number of outlets. Big array of taj^nt has been mapped and ABC is oh the prowl for a bankrbller. Hollywood, Dec. 5. Split between the eastern and Coast leadership of the American Federation of Radio Artists’ strate- gy supporting the Television Au- thority strike threat of last month is now being discussed by the union toppers. National board of AFRA voted, 33-20, on Nov. 18 that members “be instructed not to cross TVA picket lines wherever they may be.” Of thei negative votes, 18 came from the Los Angeles local, whose board later wired a resolu- tion requesting a study of the move’s legality. Knox Manning, president of the local chapter, and Frank Nelson, vice-prez, are un- derstood to have made a previous, private promise to the networks that members would walk through picket lines. National executive secretary Frank Reel, in a letter to Claude McCue, Western Region director subsequently sent to all board membersV said that the L. A. prop- osition “doesn’t make sense.” The L. A, position was that, because of the eoa^ between AFRA and the webs, members Should be told to honor their individual contracts and commitments under the code. Reel declared that there was not at the time a code between AFRA (Continued on page 38) : Andrews Sis, Ritz Bros., Raye May Sid) for Berle The Andrews Sisters, Ritz Bros., and Martha Raye are being consid- ered for replacements for Milton' Berle when comic takes two weeks vacation; Jan. 2 and 9, If either of the trios are sighed. Idea will be for a triple emcee. Should the Andrews sisters be se- lected, it would mark their first video date. William Morris Agency is submitting replacements to the Kudner^agency which ,will make the final"^dedtlhh.’ m ‘i u > r, ^ j Pattern Which the Advertising Council set in radio for allocating public service messages is being adopted by the television industry and goes into effect Dec. 17. Already 23 sponsors, their agen- cies and four networks—‘ABC-TV, CBS-TV, NBC-TV and DuMont— have agreed to share time on a regularly scheduled basis, covering both commercial shows and sus- tainers. Weekly programs agree to carry AC*approved pitches once every six weeks and cross-the-board airers will carry them once every three Weeks. First project will be a concen- trated campaign on safe driving during the Chfisfmas holidays. “Television is a flexible medium,” AV vice-chairman Lee Bristol (prez of Bristol-Myers) declared, “and the cooperating advertisers and networks stand ready to take on any emergency campaign which pur. national leaders deem meces> sary for defense. This new weapon is now ready and we will respond quickly and spiritedly to marching orders.” By the end of January, Bristol said, 75 advertisers are expected to have been inked. Council doesn’t put out canned messages, but pro- vides fact-sheets from which pro- ducers plan their own public serv- ice plugs. Plan originaliy developed in World War II, when it was admin- istered by the Office of War In- formation and the War Advertis- ing Council (which has since be- come the Advertising Council). Sponsors already accepting the plan are: General Mills, General Foods, P&G, Esso, Standard Oil of Indiana, General Electric, Borden’s, Liggett & Meyers, Gillette, Auto- Lite, Philip Morris, Lipton, Ford, American Tobacco, R. J. Reynolds, Texas Oil, Johnson’s Wax, Fire- stone,. Bristol-Myers, Kraft, Schlitz, Household Finance and Miles Labs. CBS-TV SnCKS WITH SAT. AH. SPORTS With the college football seasoi wrapped up, CBS has scheduled i series of other Saturday afternooi college sports to televise startim this Week (9) and ending March 3 Lineup, which will include 10 homi basketbail games of Army or Navy will be fed to the interconnectec network and Offered either to j single sponsor or sold on a co-oj basis. Included in the package are tw< specially-filmed football shows, t( be aired Dec. 23 and 30. First om is. expected to feature highlighti of the past season, while the sec ond Will concentrate on the team: playing in the Rose ahd Orangi Bowls. Vin Scully has been set ai narrator on the entire series, witl Dr. Mai Stevens assisting him or the football films. Also schedulec is a boxing match between team! of Western Maryland and Army. Pittsburgh, Dec. Peter Barker, veteran of 2 ye experience in motion pictures, atre and teevee, has been nai executive producer of WDTV, P burgh’s only television channel Barker’s, appointment camr multaneously with station’, gc live after nearly two, ; errs of erating exclusively with ca shows and film. < • BALTH EDUC’M GUHKTS 2-WAY TV PKHIP Baltimore, Dec. 5. What’s believed to be the first use of a two-way remote pickup unit In educational teiavision is to be employed at the second Educa- tors TV Clinic here next Wednes- day (13). In cooperation with WBAL-TV, the delegates will view a half-hour sixth grade geography lesson, in which the teacher Will ask questions from the conference in the WBAL-TV studios and her pupils will answer from their classroom : 'in a Balto school* Twenty-one other sixth grade classes in as many schools will be tuned into the session via TV re- ceivers. ’ Telecast will be aired on WBAL- TV from 10:30 to 11 a.m., under the direction of Mrs. Eleanora Kane, radio-TV specialist for the Balto Dept, of Education. Show will also utilize a horizontal wipe to permit viewers to see both the teacher and pupils at the same time. In other highlights of the conference, a musical education program on the ukelele will be aired at 3:15 p.m. and E. Arthur Hungerford of General Precision Laboratories will dembnstarte new TV equipment. Dr. J. Carety Tay- lor, Balto’s assistant superintend- ent of public schools, will preside. C Slowly-growing spirit of cooper- ation between films and television may be further cemented via a deal now being worked out by Columbia Pictures with the Du- Mont network. Col is dickering to film a cliff-hanger based on Du- Mont’s “Captain Video,” moppet ^program which is owned and pack- aged by the web. If the deal goes through, ihdus- tryites look for it to spur several more such pickups by film com- panies of characters created and made popular through video. Film toppers, even those who claim TV is not responsible for their dwin- dling grosses, have consistently maintained that they must attract juve audiences to build filmgoers for the future of the industry. And, if it’s the Captain Videos, Howdy Doodys, etc., that keep the kids at home, then the best way to lure them to the theatres is to put the characters on film. Col, meanwhile, may be the sec- ond major film company to enter production of films grooved, espe- cially for TV. Col veepee Jack Cohn indicated the studio’s will- ingness to get into TV when he recently asked one of the major ad agencies why Col wasn’t asked to bid on a film currently in produc- tion on the Coast for video beam- ing. Universal-International al- ready is in the TV field, but is pro- ducing spot commercials only. Col, which long frowned on radio and allowed few of its prop- erties to be broadcast, has been dipping heavily into TV. It success- fully used video trailers to exploit its “711 Ocean Drive” film, leading prexy Harry Cohn to hail the “Wedding of pictures and tele- vision.” Studio also has made 25 teletrailers to plug its forthcom- ing “Bom Yesterday.” CBS, last week was still trying to resolve the poser precipitated in the Frank Sinatra video show; to wit: Is it sacrilege to cut in on a rendition of the “Lord’s Prayer” When a show is running overtimd and interferes with the opening commercial on the following pro- gram? The Columbia boys, taking the matter in their own hands, decided not to cut off the Sinatra rendi- tion recently, although show was running 20 seconds over. As result, the suceeeding “Sing It Again” was late getting on. This, too, fcued a I problem, fpr the “Sing” giveaway is a simulcast, which meant getting i the AM version off on time but holding back on the start of the TV airer. - ' Vcdneedayy December 6^ 1950 NBC-TV Hollywopd, Dec. 5. - Norman Blackburn, of NBC-TV, Is setting up kine of net’s first Ven- ture into daytime soap operas. Tagged “Miss Susan,” it stars Su- san Peters and follows pattern of tadio matinee cliifhangers. Carl Bixby is scripting with Jim Jordan, Jr., directing. Washington, Dec. 5. The campaign to set aside chan- nels for educational television goes info high gear this week when members of Congress, representa- tives of labor and college presi- dents add their support to the movement at the current video al- location hearings before the FCC. Among those scheduled to testify are Sen. . LeVerett Saltonstall (D-, Mass.); Walter ReUther, prexy of the United Auto Workers; Detter BrOnk, prexy Of Johns Hopkins; John Hanna, prexy Of Michigan State College, and John Wagner, prexy of Rollins College. Others to appear include Charles Russell of the American Museum of Natural History of New York; Arthur Moehlman, professor of philosophy of the U. of Iowa; Miss Christine Gibson, noted linguist, of Harvard; James MacAndrew, di- rector of the New York Board of Education station, WNYE (FM); Robert Hudson, director of radio for the U. of Illinois; and James Marshall, New York educator. In addition to Saltonstall, several more members of the Senate may go to bat for the educators, in- cluding Sen. John W. Bricker (R., Ohio), who introduced a joint resolution in Congress last week directing the commission to study the feasibility of allocating at least One TV channel in each state for non-profit educational program- ming. Bricker’s measure requires the Commission to report to Con- gress with recommendations for legislation, if necessary, to achieve its objective. Through their witnesses this week, the educators are planning to show how television can capi- talize on the great strides which na\^ been made in applying visual techniques to education. Specifi- cally, they plan to demonstrate po- tentialities in teaching of lan- guages, medicine, philosophy as well as in preserving and further- ing democratic concepts. JACQUELINE SUSANN TO FOUOWFAYEQIERSON Pepsi-Cola-sponsored Faye En son show, starting the first of year, the network has also pic up a client for a companion sh starring Jacqueline SuSann, to out the 7 to .7:30 p.m. period b three-times-a-week basis. Miss Emersoh goes into the ’ 7:15 time, Mondays, Wednesc and Fridays. Oh the same <3 Miss Susann (playwright-wife CBS producer Irving. Mansfi takes over the 7:15 to 7:30 nii 5 >r an interview-type show, \ Quest-Shon Mark Bra picking the tab. (Miss Susann has mad a point that, because of her 1 band’s rival network connect she ‘couldn’t get myself arres WAlJDA HENDRIX TV PIX Hollywood, Dec. 5. Wanda Hendrix made her TV debut this week in “Rewrite For Love,” 30-minute show which went before the cameras at Jerry Fair- banks Productions for the “Bige- low Theatre” series. . Other cast toppers appearing in the Virginia Mullen and William Alland original story are Gig Young and Chick Chandler. Frank Woodruff is directing. ^ ‘ Philadelphia, Dec. 5, Squawks by television set own- ers stuck with worthless service policies haye brought action by the Better Business Bureau, and a move within the industry itself to halt and. weed out incoinpetent and unscrupulous operators. Complaints pyramided with the recent failure of a half, dozen service. and repair firms, and pro-, tests poured into the: Better Busi- * ness Bureau by the hundreds, swamping that agency. Hugh Smith, manager of the bureau, estimated more than 1,000 complaints had been received and that his staff was unable to cope with the situation. Smith stated the trouble is na- tion-wide in scope and that condi- tions here were ho worse, and bet- ter in some cases, than in other cities. The BBB head has already conferred with representatives of the Philadelphia R a di o Service-. men’s Assn, and the Television Contractors Assn., as Well as spokesmen for the manufacturers and distribs. He has also discussed remedies with banks and finance companies through whom most of the TV receivers are, purchased.' *pisgraceful’ Situation Paul V. Forte, executive secre- tary of the Television Contractors Assn., said his organization would welcome“a complete airing of the disgraceful situation.” Forte said that many of the so-called techni- cians Were not qualified and oper- ate with nothing more than a tele- phone number and a tool kit. “Be- cause of these few, the industry haS been given a black eye,” Forte de- clared. Ah inquiry would help the ethi- cal and reputable firms and will also help the public distinguish be- tween the legitimate oi.tfits and the racketeers. Forte said. He charged that some distribs sell sets at cost and depend upon “kickbacks” from the service ^ contraotors .with .^hom they place the policy. Service operators working on the “kickback” principle suddenly find themselves in a spot where they have to lay out considerable sums of money and wind up forced to the wall. Forte said the number of “shaky” operators would have been (Continued on page 38) Out of CBS and General Motors huddling this week may come a deal for sponsorship of a half-hour TV stanza starring Sam Levenson, with Irving Mansfield as producer of the show. GM reportedly is interested on behalf of its Chevro- let car. Levenson, who has appeared fre- quently on CBS’ “This Is Show Business” as a guest. Was given his own 15-minute show a couple months back, when he was slotted back-to-back with Jack Benny. However, the web wants to build it into a full-blown comedy-music production, with likelihood that it will go into the Saturday night 7 to 7:30 time. ASC MAKING CHI TELE BOW TO AID BENEFTT Chicago, Dec. 5. Abbott & Costello will make their .first tele appearance here Dec. 16 -in a Chicago Boys Club benefit at the Studebaker theatre. In addition to the comedians, Jim- my Durante is also scheduled In, and Spike Jones will make a flying visit. Cast of “Kukla, Fran, and Ollle,” and the Dave Garrowa/ show will also appear on the hour- ahd-half-long telecast from 10:3d p.m. to midnight on WNBQ, with sister radio station, WMAQ,^ taking over the post-midnight chores. Idea was originated by orch leader Bill Snyder, who will fly in to back the show. Format will be similar to that of Milton Berie’s marathon for the cancer fund, with celebs and others taking over the phones for dona- tions. House will also ^ be scaled from $5 to $3.50. Chicago Herald- Americaii Js also tying in and will furnish cars to pick up phone dona- I tions, as will the sheriff’s office.^